tonisherrell

Has anyone lost weight after quitting drinking? If so how long did it takean how much did you loose? Did you have to diet at all?.. I so hope these 20 pounds come off...

Kris47

Hello Toni,

The weight will come off. I lost 10 pounds right off the bat. Then I settled in and managed to put it back on. I was craving sugar for the first 6 months. I am now almost back down again. Gotta make that lovely ice cream an occasional treat, not an everyday one.

You can do it. Congrats on losing the alcohol.

MelindaFlowers

I became obese from drinking. I gained 60 lbs in about five years from the 1,800-2,000 calories I drank every night. People who had not seen me in a while did not even recognize me.

In one year of abstinence I have lost 30 lbs without lifting a finger. The other 30 will come off very soon I am sure.

In one year of abstinence I have reduced my alcohol-calorie intake by 665,000 calories in one year. I used to drink about 350 days a year. 350 x 1,900 calories = 665,000 calories.

My face has also returned to normal. I looked like I had been beaten in the face when I was drinking with slits for eyes and red, sweaty skin.

bigsombrero

I lost 20 lbs pretty quickly (male, 36 when I got sober). Three years later, I have kept all that weight off. I am generally active, but more of an outdoorsy type - no gyms, diets, etc. Living in my part of the world, I hike around a lot, mostly by default. I travel a lot and the last few times I've traveled into the USA the pa$sport officials always joke with me about the picture on my ID. They say "wow, you lost a lot of weight"! Or "are you sure you're the guy in this picture"? Ha. I stay away from alcohol, red meat, and don't eat a lot of bread. I am sure you'll lose 20 lbs within a couple of months, that's a huge benefit of sobriety. You'll feel so much better inside and out!

StayStrong33

I gained because of the sugar cravings during the first 4 months but have lost 15 in the last 3 months of sobriety. I was gentle with myself on the sweets but remained consistent with good habits (healthy meals, drinking water, exercise) and it has gradually balanced out.

thomas11

I've lost weight. I would say most people do, simply because of the caloric intake involved with heavy drinking. For those who are far down the rabbit hole, malnutrition is a reality because alcohol are their only calories, thus weight gain is needed. 20 lbs? Piece of cake! (their is a lame joke in there somewhere)

toadie54

I've been tracking my intake on Sparkpeople.com and have included alcohol consumption, changed over to light beer and diet coke in my rum drinks and lost weight...hoping to lose more after being alcohol free for 13 days as of today.

Still tracking intake though and agree you may eat more than you should after dropping alcohol from your diet...I'm sure everyone's body reacts differently but no doubt you should lose weight.

Best of luck in your recovery!

Ileana

I gained about 30 pounds during the first few months because all I wanted to eat was sugar.

MelindaFlowers

In the end I was so desperate to simply get alcohol out of my life, I didn't care if I gained 100 lbs in sobriety.

I initially substituted food for the alcohol. Any and all types of junk food you can imagine, in large quantities and all times of the day. My appetite was huge for a month or three.

I've found that the appetite has completely normalized at a year.

notgonnastoptry

Of course, there is absolutely NO silver lining in all of this (I was hospitalized last week), but.....Right before going in, I wasn't eating at all for weeks. I was nibbling here and there and there'd be days I would eat. I was at my lowest weight in years. I have to admit, people were telling me I looked really good. Now my appetite is back in full swing and I have cravings for chocolate. When we are drinking, we don't since we get all of the sugar from our alcohol. That's why I need to join a club. The few moments of sobriety between all of the bs going on, I enjoyed dressing in nice clothes that hadn't fit for years.

I'm hoping to shed. I could stand to lose 10 pounds but I've already gained 10 back after finally eating or nibbling three times a day at the hospital.

Kris47

The rainbow?

If we stay sober and eat healthy, that is all that matters.

Soberwolf

I initially put on weight as i had to i was underweight because of my drinking

MarathonMan

I have lost 17lbs in 103 days. When i dont drink though i run quite a lot.

Are you doing any form of exercise? Walking, running, biking (stationary or outside), gym etc

sva777

I put on about twenty pounds after I quit, I was eating all wrong when I was drinking.

stark6935

Probably depends how you are when you drank. I eat a ton when drunk. When I'm not drunk I don't crave all that garbage.

BlueFairy

Lost about 10 pounds and have kept it off but haven't lost any more. The sugar cravings have "helped" me to stay right where I am. I'm 2 1/2 months sober. Charging my fitbit right now hoping I'll get back in the swing with it. My band was broke and I fell out of habit waiting for a new band.

CaseyW

Haven't weighed myself but I'm on day 70 and have most definitely lost weight. I'm guessing 10-12 pounds, maybe 15. And that was even with eating like a total sugar-craving pig for the first month.

More importantly, my skin looks a million times better. It almost glows now. My jawline is much stronger. And I can't even begin to explain how much better my eyes look today. My whites are actually white instead of bloodshot all the time.

saoutchik

I think my weight was stable for the first two months, probably because of eating more sugary food and drinks.

After two months I started jogging - actually this was not to lose weight but to try and reclaim my sleep pattern which was ruined by heavy drinking (I have a fairly sedentary job too)

I can tell that I have lost some weight because of the way my clothes fit.

Surrender2win

I'm 60 days in and have lost 10 pounds. My skin and eyes look much better too! I hope to lose more after giving up my occasional craving for chocolate... but, at first we have to have something right?

lighter

I put a lot of weight on. I replaced drinking with eating to an extent.